Lee filters with LF lenses and ultra long exposures

[Bob Salomon]

I'm wanting to shoot outdoors, from dawn to dusk; entirety of a days worth of daylight hours.

By my estimation–and it's just that, an estimation–is that a 15 stop ND should do the trick with 400ISO film shot at f45 or 64, perhaps pulled a bit to control the contrast, although I'll do some tests first to confirm that. Will really depend on the light of the day. It's as much for conceptual as aesthetic reasons I want to do this, as I'm trying to build on a long term project that has increasingly become about the light at a particular location. Anyway, it might not work or it might work and not look interesting, but I want to give it a try.

The reason for putting the filter behind the lens was simply because so many people recommended it as a way to help avoid flare as well as light leaks getting in via oblique angles in the filter holder. It's a relatively extreme use case regardless of filter position. I didn't know that putting a filter behind the lens can cause focus shift. That will need to be something to consider. I already have and use a Lee Universal Lens hood with filter slots, perhaps I just start by using that and make sure I tape up the sides of the holder really well. Not sure if there's an adaptor that goes to a thread as small as my G-Claron has, or if a screw in filter holder will introduce vignetting, but there's only one way to find out...

Thanks,

Tim

Are you trying to duplicate what Stephen Wilkes does?

[cdavis324]

Are you trying to duplicate what Stephen Wilkes does?

To me it sounds more like Atta Kim. He did a series of full day exposures about 10 years ago, and there’s some info on his technique out there.

At f64 or 45, you don’t really have to worry about focus shift... that being said, why not put the filter in front of lens first to try since you have what you need to do that?




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[Bob Salomon]

To me it sounds more like Atta Kim. He did a series of full day exposures about 10 years ago, and there’s some info on his technique out there.

At f64 or 45, you don’t really have to worry about focus shift... that being said, why not put the filter in front of lens first to try since you have what you need to do that?




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Wilkes does it all the time. Check his web site.

[cdavis324]

Wilkes does it all the time. Check his web site.

I’ll check it out - all I know if his is the day to night series...


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[Drew Wiley]

It's not just a problem of focus shift. Even stopped way down there's likely to be be an apparent drop in optimal image quality. I've tested for this. Of course, if this is the look you're after, so be it.

[Tim V]

Never heard of either of those photographers, will check them out...

[Tim V]

I like Atta Kim's urban landscapes, they are somewhat close to what I want to do, all be it with a different subject matter and intent. Not keen on Stephen Wilkes's work. Too manipulated for my tastes, at least the Day to Night series on his website is.
Thanks for the references. Appreciate them.
PS: Have ordered Atta Kim's book, On-Air: Eight Hours. Looking forward to seeing the images properly as the ones on the internet aren't very detailed.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Here is my take, I shoot long exposure quite often, Outdoors is better situation for long exposure to remove pesky people from an image, blur clouds, and do all sorts of neat stuff, especially if going black and white or shooting color and converting. Using the format filter system get I would say a 10 stop to start with, and a 5 stop. Make sure to install the gasket on the filter holder (using the 4x4 system which is most versatile) If you don't use the gasket, you will get reflections of the front of the lens on the image, also, be sure to wrap the camera in a dark clot or something that will seal out the light. Wrap it 360, and front to back. Don''t try to adjust focus once you start. Be prepared to be with your camera for a couple of days at worst, a couple of hours at best. Err on the side of slight over exposure too. Good luck. Best part is you don't have to deal with the digital noise and whether cold or hot won't effect the smoothness of the image. With digital, even if it is freezing outside, without a thermal cooler and even with you get all kinds of noise from dark, bias, hot pixels, etc. The hotter it is outside, the longer the exposure the worse it becomes to the point you will not get a useable image regardless of post-processing techniques. Why I love film for long exposure.

[Tim V]

I use a Leaf Credo 60 on a Linhof Techno platform. Great setup, but it’s crap with exposures longer than 30 secs, and especially bad shooting backlit scenes. It’s way better for many things, but when it’s not used in good conditions things fall apart really quickly. I love film for the latitude, mostly, plus the way it forces me to be more disciplined and mentally present.

[Tim V]

Thanks for the advise! Much appreciated. I want to start my exposure just before sunrise, and end it just after dusk. I also want to simply accept the cross curves - well, at least to a certain extent - and let reciprocity work in my favour. I don’t have a gasket for my Lee system, so thanks for the tip.

Here is my take, I shoot long exposure quite often, Outdoors is better situation for long exposure to remove pesky people from an image, blur clouds, and do all sorts of neat stuff, especially if going black and white or shooting color and converting. Using the format filter system get I would say a 10 stop to start with, and a 5 stop. Make sure to install the gasket on the filter holder (using the 4x4 system which is most versatile) If you don't use the gasket, you will get reflections of the front of the lens on the image, also, be sure to wrap the camera in a dark clot or something that will seal out the light. Wrap it 360, and front to back. Don''t try to adjust focus once you start. Be prepared to be with your camera for a couple of days at worst, a couple of hours at best. Err on the side of slight over exposure too. Good luck. Best part is you don't have to deal with the digital noise and whether cold or hot won't effect the smoothness of the image. With digital, even if it is freezing outside, without a thermal cooler and even with you get all kinds of noise from dark, bias, hot pixels, etc. The hotter it is outside, the longer the exposure the worse it becomes to the point you will not get a useable image regardless of post-processing techniques. Why I love film for long exposure.